Pneumatic press-feeding means.



i. DUVALL. PNEUMATlc PRESS FEEDING MEANS.

APPLICATION FILES DHLZ?, |915- 2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

www /P HMH ll INVENTOR Zvw/yb By ATTORNEY 1. DUVALL'.

PNEUMATIC PRESS FEE-DING MEANS.

APPLICATION FILED DhC.2.1915.

1,207,149. Patented Dec. 5,1916. I

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

WITNESSES.' .WVENTOR @QQJJMJ @WM @Mm @6m/5W. *By A JAMES DUVALL, OF CAMAS, WASHINGTON.

PNEUMATICI PRESS-FEEDING MEANS.

I Specification o Letters Patent.

Patented Dec.4 5,

Application filed December 27, 1915. Serial No.'68,74=3A To alZ 'whom it may concern:

vBe it known that I, JAMES DUVALI., a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Camas, county of Clarke, and State of 1- Washington, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Pneumatic Press-Feeding Means, -of which the following is a. specilication.

My invention relates to mechanism which automatically and by means of air suction feeds the undermost sheet, envelop, bag, or the like, from a pile or vertical stack of material to other means for operating thereon,

' and more particularly relates 'to the feeding of all sizes of paper bagsto a bag printing press. Its object is to provide a much simpler and more dependable means of feeding such stacked material to the press, one unit at a time, uniformly and rapidly. It does away with the carrier belts and nipperdevices so common in suchpress feeding means thus greatly simplifying same and avoiding the complicated mechanisms that have heretofore been such a source of trouble and delay in the operation of the press.

The accompanying drawings, 'forming a;

I par hereof, illustrate a common form of bag printing press, with the usual plate and impression cylinders and an adjustable'rack, Open on the bottom to allow the bags to be fed frOm underneath, and with the descriptonheren, make clear the principles of` myinvention and `the best mode in which I have embodied those principles in applying my feed mechanism to this bag printing machine.

Figure 1 is a sido elevation of the press, showing diagrammatically the elements of the feed mechanism. Fig.'2 is a plan, with the bag rack 6 omitted. Fig. 3 is an end view showing location of air valve 11, suction hose 12, suction pipe 13, and the cams 8 and 9 on cam shaft 16. Fig. 4 is a perspective 0f the hOllOW, SlOtted feeder roll 3, with opening 3 therein, one of the most important features of my invention. Fig. 5 is a. Side elevation with the front frame part F removed and shows a bag just being engaged by the slotted feeder roll 5i. Fig. 6 is a perspective detail showing relation between the air valve 1'1, its cam 9 and the suction box 51 its actuating lever 7, cam 8 and springiS lFig. 7 is a perspective detail of'air valvel 11 and its cam 9, showing lever 10 in elevated position and air shut off Lfier passage of cam. It will be noted that the cam segment isabrupt at 9., shutting. offthejair Fig. 8 1s a plan ottliesujction heart-showing the ori iices 5 and Fig'. ,S3-isa;sidevievvoffthe suction box, showingsuctionfshose .cornicetion on the bottom. ,1. im..

The top roll l,.l* `igs..l,and.5, istlie typeor plate cylinder. Aand the bottom froll .2: is..the impression cylinder, it being the objectoj all the variousfeedv mechanisms to contin- .uousl y feed these `printingl rolls with-thematerial to be operated upon. liligs. l' and 5 show very plainly how tliisis accomplished by my mechanism. The bags" tobe .printed are placed in :mensual-'form of adjustable bag rack 6 .by the operator, :one :on toprfof the other, the forward .part.ofthe.,bottomof the rack `being open to `allow the -undermo'st bag to be pulled from the-pile. F-ig. lxshaW-s the suction elementf, with; its-suctionori'- fices 5, Figs. ,2 and 8, inengagernentrwvith the forward and bottom .part of; ther lowest bag of the pile-11?; that hasffbeeniStackedinso adjusted. in relatijoii toleverplflfof .the cut-off air valve 1 1, that .at t l 1 is instant.,it

presses down the lever and opensthefwalve,

the suction becoming activegand-the bottom suction boxv 5. Thegcam genowengages jpin 7, Fig. '6, of leverlf,..wl iic h i s mounted. on rocker shafty 15 together with ,the suction box 5, and the latter isn'iovedinto the position shown in F ig. 5, the. forward end.- of the bottom bagbeing-pulled ,from -thepile 17. Just as the end of the .bag is thu's pulled clear of the rackit enter-s theslottedopening 3 in the .hollow feeder` roll 3, .whose rotation is so timed in relation to-the suction box movement- .that this slot. or opening is always in the .proper yposition to receivethe end of the bag. -The cam 8 hasnot'quite finished its Lthrow, the suction box andbag being tilted a little lower and the rotating Aso feeder rolls'B and 4 and thus the bag is free to he fed between the slotted roll 3 and the impression cylinder 2 and thence it passes between the type or plate cylinder 1 and impression cylinder 2. When the feeder rolls 3 and el take the bag from the suction box, the cam 9 has passed its period of greatest throw and the coil spring 18, shownl in Fig. 6 and partially in Fig. 1, and which exerts a .constant tension, pulls on the lever or arm 7, attached to the rocker Shaft 15, and the suction box, mounted on this same rocker shaft,is .restored to its original position into engagement with the bottom bag of pile 17 and cani 9 again depresses lever 10 and the suction again becomes active and the movement repeats itself with rapidity and precision.

-While the. above embodies a successful form of my feed mechanism, increasing the capacity of the press fullytwenty-ive per cent., I'realize that many minor changes the slotted feeder roll 3 as broadly new in press feeding mechanisms.

l, .EI c'laim,2 ,A 11. In a pneumatic feed for presses with the usual plate and impression cylinders and an* adjustable rack 'to hold a pile of material so that it can be fed to the press from underneath, a suction element whose orifice is directly under the forward end of the feed rack, means to swing the mouth of4 the suction element vertically toward and away from the bottom of the feed rack, a cutoff air valve controlling the suction and means for opening and closing saine at proper intervals, a hollow, slotted feeder roll whose periphery is wholly outside of the path of the suction element, but is in contact with theimpression cylinder., and which engages, when the suctionlele'ment pulls it downward, the entire forward end ofthe undermost u nit of the pile of material that is being fed' tothe press and an idlerroll in contact with the rotating slotted feeder roll which coperates with it when the suction releases, to forward the material between the plate and impression cylinders.

2. In a pneumatic feed for presses with the usual plate and impression cylinders and an adjustable rack to hold a pile of ma terial so that it can be fed to the press from underneath, a suction element whose orifice is directly under the forward end of the feed rack, means to swing the inoiitli of the suction element vertically toward and away from-the bottom ofthe feed rack, a cutoff air valve controlling the suction and means for opening and closing same at proper intervals, a hollow, slotted feeder roll whose periphery is wholly outside of the path of the suction element, but is Ain contact with. the impression cylindenf and which engages, when the suction element pulls it downward, the entirefforward end of the undermost unit of the pile of material that is being fed to the press causing same to enter the nip between it and the impression cylinder and be passed tothe printing cylinders.

3. In a pneumatic feed for presses with the' usual type and impression cylinders, a hollow, longitudinally slotted feeder roll in contact with the impression cylinder, lcated just forward of the pinch between the plate and impression cylinders.

4. In apneumatic feed for presses of the type described, a hollow, longitudinally slotted feeder roll whose periphery is wholly outsideof. the path of the suction element, but is in contact, with-the impression cylinder, located 'just forward of the pinch be-v tween the plate and impression cylinders and an idler feeder roll in Contact with the betweenit and the impression cylinder.

- slotted feeder roll just forward of the pinch 5. In a press comprising a plate or type cylinder and an impression cylindena suction element' attached to a rocker shaft,w;+.h

4the mouth of the suction box directly underneath the feed rack, a lever or arm affixed to said rocker shaft, a cam which actuates said'lever and said suction element, a 100 spring attached to lever which .tends to bring it and the suction box into'their original position, as air Valve, a lever on air valve, a cam which engages said air valve lever to open and close the valve at the proper intervals, va rotating longitudinally slotted feeder roll whose periphery is wholly outside of the path of the. Suction element, but is in contact with the impression cylinder andan idler feeder roll in Contact with 'the slotted feeder roll.. Y

for a press compris- JAMES DUVALL. Witnesses:

W; L. Fri-LEY, BERT W. HENRY. 

